Picture: SD Books
If Cats Disappeared from the World (2012) is Genki Kawamura’s first novel; however, it is not his first time telling stories. He has also produced (and written) many Japanese films, such as “Your Name” (2016), “Weathering with You” (2019), “Monster” (2023) and “Exit 8” (2025). If Cats Disappeared from the World itself has also been adapted to a live action movie. Kawamura has since published other bestsellers, including “Million Dollar Man” (2014) and “April, Come She Will” (2016).
This novel has a rather simple premise. We meet a postal worker who lives with his cat, Cabbage. He suddenly discovers he has a stage four brain tumour that will kill him within the year. So naturally, the devil shows up with a proposition. He has made a deal with God to allow humans an extra day of life, but in return he takes something away from the world. Now, the theme of the story reveals itself – what can you remove from the world and still have a world worth living in? How much are you willing to lose?
“But if giving up chocolate can save my life, then why not?”
Originally written in Japanese, the book was translated into English by Eric Selland, meaning that there could be some nuances lost in translation that I couldn’t fully catch while reading. The story is written as a letter from the narrator to an undisclosed recipient until the last chapter. This makes the story easy to follow along and understand.
“When you think about it, it’s the future you’ll never get to see that you regret missing the most when you die”
The story makes you reflect on what and how much you could sacrifice before life as you know it loses what made it your life. Books? Films? Music? Cats? How much could you lose before it isn’t your life that you are living anymore? What matters most to you? That is what the narrator goes through. He is trying to live, while tying up loose ends. There aren’t that many to begin with, but we learn that some are more important than others. Like old love, family and trying to figure out who can take care of his cat after he passes on. If there even still is a cat left when that time comes.
“Countless people who I seemed to have had some kind of relationship with, but when push came to shove, didn’t really share much with after all. My contacts list was filled with people like that. My life was over and I had no one who mattered enough for me to call.”
The novel focuses a lot on what the narrator has lost earlier in his life. Mainly the death of his mother who died 4 years earlier. It seems like he is grieving who he thought he could be, and what his mother wanted for him. We don’t really know a lot of what happened in his own life between his mother dying, and his own imminent death. It feels like his life has been on pause for a while, and now that he suddenly knows he’s about to die – it starts again. So, while the novel is presented as a story where you can sacrifice different objects for a chance to live longer, it is also a story about what makes you feel like you are living.
If Cats Disappeared from the World is an easy to follow along story about life and loss. Since it is written in the form of a letter and the tone is conversational, it isn’t hard to feel like the person writing could be someone you knew. If that person also had a knack for remembering what they did and pacing. The book is probably not for everyone, as is the case for all books, but I feel like many people could get some reflection on their own life from the narrator’s, as I did.
Rating 4/5
